Rectal bleeding could be a powerful early warning sign of colon cancer among younger adults, University of Louisville researchers said in a new study. File Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/EPA
Rectal bleeding could be a powerful early warning sign of colon cancer among younger adults, a new study says.
Such bleeding increased more than eightfold the odds of a colon cancer diagnosis among people younger than 50, researchers reported Tuesday at the American College of Surgeons' annual meeting in Chicago.
By comparison, a family history of colon cancer was tied to just a twofold increase in risk, researchers found. About 70% of the patients diagnosed had no family history of colon cancer.
"Many of the early-onset colorectal cancers that I see have no family history," said senior researcher Dr. Sandra Kavalukas, a colorectal surgeon at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky.
